Ahh...Lough Foyle.
For those that don't know Lough Foyle sits in between County Londonderry in Northern Ireland and County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland (ROI). Ownership of said lough is in dispute between the UK Government and their counterparts in the ROI. It's be going on for awhile now and a conclusion doesn't seem to be getting any closer.
However, on TV tonight in Northern Ireland on a program highlighting the details of this, one of the commentators, i can't remember which one unfortunately, stated that this dispute had been going on for 'hundreds of years'.
Ummm...strange. Consider this.
The Island of Ireland was split in 1922 after violent insurrection against British control. Subsequently the Republic of Ireland was also formally formed then. The six counties that form Northern Ireland remained a part of the UK. Before that the entire Island of Ireland had been under British control for hundreds and hundreds of years.
Now even considering my appalling mathematics that is 96 years ago.
So who then was disputing ownership of the Lough, as the commentator stated, for hundreds of years?
Before 1922 the entire Island of Ireland was a part of the United Kingdom so the lough was also part of the United Kingdom?
Therefore before 1922 ownership of the Lough wasn't disputed by anybody? So where the commentator gets hundreds of years from is lost on me. I do wish someone had asked him but unfortunately no one asked him to clarify his ridiculous comment.
And before someone starts nothing political here just simple geography (and a bit of History).
Personally i couldn't really care less about Lough Foyle. Never been there and probably never will but still....i do like to nit pick about these sorts of things.
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2 comments:
Hello Junkmale, I have read your comments and would say that I believe the commentator was alluding to the disputes by the earls back in the fifteenth/sixteenth century over the fishing rights to Lough Foyle. I would also take issue with a couple of other points. The Republic of Ireland did not exist until 1949. The Irish Free State was formed in December 1922 under the terms of the Government of Ireland act, granting Ireland dominion status - King George V was still head of state. The six counties of the North had to formally secede from the Free State and were actually part of the Saorstat Eireann for about a week before the King signed the bill giving his assent.
Neither is it accurate to describe the events of 1918-1922 as 'violent insurrection'. The General Election of 1918 returned a Sinn Fein landslide across Ireland (excepting Ulster) and this was their mandate for the establishment of the Dail, a democratic association which was promptly suppressed by the British. They then turned to violence to achieve independence, which had after all been promised to Irish nationalists prior to the outbreak of war in 1914.
I hope you don't mind me challenging your post like this; I am not particularly political, but I do like accuracy and I despise dog whistle unionism that relies on ill-researched half-truths.
Thank you for your comment. I'm happy to admit that my knowledge of British/Irish history at this time period is pretty limited. Should i ever be factually incorrect (as i often am) i've no problem with anyone correcting or clarifying points of error in my posts.
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